1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for interconnecting a plurality of consumer electronics devices. More specifically, the present invention is directed to systems and methods for delivering interactive instructions for setting up and connecting various consumer electronics devices and for testing the connections established by the user to ensure that they are reliable and fully operable.
2. The Prior State of the Art
Since its introduction, the television has provided a source of entertainment for millions of individuals. The television has traditionally been a fairly simple device that is easy for users to set up and connect. Traditionally, a user simply unboxed the television, connected the antenna, plugged the television in and turned it on.
Today, however, televisions have moved well beyond their traditional configurations and may form the center of a wide array of entertainment and information systems. For example, various consumer electronics devices, such as VCRs, video disk players, video game devices, and so forth, may be connected to a television to provide enhanced entertainment opportunities. In addition, recently there have been introduced a variety of inexpensive Internet terminal boxes which allow individuals to connect to the Internet to send and receive information. These Internet terminals use a television set as the display device. Furthermore, video programming may be received not only from traditional broadcast antennas, but also cable television services and satellite receivers. In order to give a high quality viewing experience, home theater systems that provide surround sound and near theater quality audio can also be connected.
Although consumers are now able to custom configure a wide variety of home entertainment and information systems using the various consumer electronic choices available today, connecting the devices together in order to realize the full benefit of the consumer electronics devices can be extremely difficult. In fact, various configurations can be so complicated, that users refuse to consider the purchase of additional consumer electronics devices simply because they cannot figure out how to connect them together. In order to provide high quality video and audio, the mechanisms for connecting these various consumer electronics devices to a television may vary dramatically from device to device. Connections may include not only coaxial cable, but also a variety of RCA-type connectors for audio and/or video, S-video connectors, and so forth. If the various video and audio standards of foreign countries are taken into account, the various configurations and connectors is extremely vast.
Part of the difficulty in connecting together various consumer electronics devices is the limited nature of instructions typically included with the devices. Traditionally, instruction manuals sold with consumer electronics devices have illustrations and accompanying text that describe a proper manner of interconnecting various consumer electronics devices. However, because any particular user may have one or more of a wide variety of devices, it is often very difficult for the consumer to make sense of instructions and identify the sections directed to his or her particular type of electronics equipment. In addition, once consumers have attempted to connect their consumer electronics devices as described in an instruction manual, it is often difficult to verify that the connections have been correctly established. If, for example, the consumer has come close to establishing the correct connection, the consumer electronics device may only partially function. In this case, the consumer may mistakenly believe that the device is operating with full functionality. Without a reliable way to test the connection to insure that it is fully established, consumers may find it difficult to properly configure consumer electronics systems.
In order to help illustrate the magnitude of the problem, reference will now be made to FIGS. 1-6 which show various potential configurations for how an Internet terminal, such as those that are commonly available today, may be connected to a television. Referring first to FIG. 1, the most basic configuration is illustrated. In FIG. 1, a low-cost Internet terminal is illustrated generally as 20. Such Internet terminals are typically specialized low-cost computer devices designed specifically to connect to the Internet and allow browsing and delivery of information from the Internet to the television screen. Such computers include the NC, licensed by Network Computer, Inc., the Sega Saturn (combined with the netlink accessory), by Sega Corporation, and the WebTV, by WebTV Networks, Inc. As illustrated in FIG. 1, such Internet terminals may have a plurality of various connectors on the back of the device that allow the device to be connected to the television and to the various other consumer electronics devices a user might have. In FIG. 1, such connectors are illustrated generally as 22.
In the most basic configuration, an Internet terminal is connected to the television without any other consumer electronics devices via traditional coaxial cable. In this configuration, illustrated in FIG. 1, coaxial cable 24 coming from an antenna or cable box is connected to an input connector 26. A second coaxial cable 28 is connected between Internet terminal 20 and television 30 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Additionally, power cord 32 and telephone cable 34 are connected to their respective connectors. Such a configuration would be used, for example, with an older style television which only had a VHF/UHF connector 36 as indicated.
In order to improve the video quality of information flowing from a consumer electronics device to a television, many newer televisions have direct audio and video inputs. Such a television is illustrated, for example, in FIG. 2. As illustrated in FIG. 2, Television 38 has not only VHF/UHF connector 36 but also a direct video input 40 and a direct audio input 42. Such connectors are usually configured to receive a standard RCA type connector. As indicated in FIG. 2, a standard RCA cable 44 is connected to video input 40, audio input 42 and corresponding video output 46 and audio output 48 on the Internet terminal. Since the television is configured only to accept mono audio signals, the second stereo audio output is not utilized.
Turning next to FIG. 3, yet a different type of television having different connectors is illustrated. In this figure, television 50 has not only video inputs 40 but also S-video input 52 and stereo audio inputs 54 and 56. S-video is yet another standard that has been developed in order to provide crisper, higher quality video signals to televisions. Thus, it is desirable to use S-video whenever possible. In FIG. 3, therefore, rather than using video input 40, S-video cable 58 is connected between S-video input 52 and S-video output 60 of Internet terminal 20. Left channel audio input 54 is then connected to left channel audio output connector 48 of Internet terminal 20, and right channel audio input 56 is connected to right channel audio output 62 of Internet terminal 20 in order to provide stereo sound between Internet terminal 20 and television 50. If, for some reason, the user did not desire to use the S-video input, then television 50 may be connected to Internet 2 terminal 20 as illustrated in FIG. 4 by using RCA cable 44 to connect video output 46 to 3 video input 40.
FIGS. 1-4 illustrate the complexity that can occur when connecting a consumer electronics device to a television. These situations illustrate only a single consumer electronics device, represented by Internet terminal 20. Such a consumer electronics device is, however, simply representative since identical events happen whenever any type of consumer electronics device is connected to a television. When multiple consumer electronics devices are connected to a television, the situation becomes even more confusing. One such configuration is illustrated in FIG. 5 where the video programming is provided by a cable television service. The consumer also has both an Internet terminal and a VCR that he desires to connect to a television. Given these choices, FIG. 5 represents one possible configuration that a user might be required to connect.
In FIG. 5, video programming is delivered to the user through coaxial cable 24. When video programming is delivered from a cable television service, usually some, and occasionally all, of the channels are scrambled or otherwise encoded to discourage piracy. Cable television services thus, typically require a user to have a cable box 64 to decode these channels. Coaxial cable 24 is therefore connected to input connector 66. Output connector 68 is typically connected via coaxial cable 70 to the input connector 72 of VCR 74. Output connector 76 of VCR 74 is connected via coaxial cable 78 to input connector 26 of Internet terminal 20. Output connector 35 of Internet terminal 20 is connected via coaxial cable 28 to input connector 36 of television 50 as previously described. Internet terminal 20 is also connected to television 50 via RCA cable 44 as previously described in conjunction with FIG. 4. As far as the video connection goes, a user could, alternatively, connect S-video connector 60 to S-video connector 52 with an S-video cable as previously described in conjunction with FIG. 3. VCR 74 is also connected to television 50 via RCA cable 80. RCA cable 80 thus connects video output 88 of VCR 74 to video input 82, left channel audio output 90 to left channel input 84 and right channel audio output 92 to right channel audio input 86.
In order to allow a user to change channels and control the various devices by remote control, Internet terminal 20 may incorporate a mechanism that prevents a user from having to use a separate remote control for each consumer electronics device. For example, Internet terminal 20 may be a WebTV Plus set-top box, which provides an IR blaster (an infrared emitter) that can be used to deliver infrared information from Internet terminal 20 to various consumer electronics devices. This allows a user, for example, to change channels using the remote control for Internet terminal 20, which will then relay the command to the appropriate device, such as cable box 64 or VCR 74, by transmitting appropriate infrared signals through IR blaster cable 94. This capability requires a user to connect IR blaster cable 94 and place the other end of the cable in a location where the cable can deliver infrared information to the infrared receivers of cable box 64 and VCR 74, as illustrated in FIG. 6. As illustrated in FIG. 6, IR blaster cable 94 has an emitter assembly 96 which may be positioned on cable box 64 such that the infrared receiver of cable box 64 can receive the signals emitted from emitter assembly 96. In the example shown in FIG. 5, IR blaster cable 94 has two IR emitter assemblies. Although both emit IR simultaneously, the VCR 72 and cable box 64 normally will only respond to IR signaling encoded for each device.
The configuration of FIG. 5 represents just some of the complexity that can occur when a user desires to connect multiple consumer electronics devices to a television. A couple of observations should be made about the configuration illustrated in FIG. 5. As illustrated in FIG. 5, cable box 64 is connected to VCR 74 which is connected to Internet terminal 20 which is connected to television 50. In addition, another connection exists between VCR 74 and television 50. Such a configuration allows, for example, a user to record one channel on VCR 74 while, simultaneously, watching a different channel on television 50. However, it can be seen that should other consumer electronics devices wish to be placed in the chain, cabling modifications will have to be made. Not all configurations will allow a user to record video information from one source on a VCR while watching video information from another source. The various configurations can get extremely complicated and it is easy to see while many users cannot figure out how to make connections that allow full use of all features of the consumer electronics devices.
It would, therefore, be an advancement in the art to dramatically simplify the method of connecting various consumer electronics devices to a television. It would also be an advancement in the art to provide a system for delivering instructions to the consumer in a way that is more easily understood than the instruction manuals traditionally used. It would be a further advancement in the art to provide systems and methods for ensuring that the connection established by the consumer is reliable and fully operable. There is also a need in the art for improved methods of identifying and selecting an optimal configuration of a remote control system for various consumer electronics devices. Systems and methods having the foregoing features would be even more valuable if they could be combined with simplified connectors that could be easily understood by virtually any consumer.
The present invention is directed to systems and methods for delivering interactive instructions for setting up and connecting various consumer electronics devices. The invention may also include systems and methods for testing the connection established by the consumer to ensure that it is reliable and fully operable. The connections described in the interactive instructions may be electrical connections established by cables or connections involving an infrared or another remote control system. The present invention allows consumers to conveniently identify techniques for connecting the consumer electronics devices to realize their full capability.
According to the invention, a consumer connects a first consumer electronics device to a television or another display screen. Upon establishing this connection, the display screen displays interactive information guiding the consumer through the process of connecting other consumer electronics devices to the home entertainment or information system. First, the instructions may include a menu or another mechanism for allowing the consumer to identify the types of other consumer electronics devices to be connected. When one of the other consumer electronics devices is identified, the first consumer electronics device determines a proper way of establishing the connection. This may include determining what cable or cables are needed to connect the devices.
The first consumer electronics device may then determine whether the consumer has the necessary cables. This can be accomplished by querying the consumer or by reviewing a list of standard cables sold with the first consumer electronics device. If the consumer does not have the necessary cables, the cables can optionally be purchased online by the first consumer electronics device.
When the consumer has the necessary cables, the first consumer electronics device displays on the display screen text and/or graphical images describing the proper way to connect the consumer electronics devices. The consumer then establishes the connection as instructed. Once the connection is established, the first consumer electronics device can transmit or receive signals over the connection to determine whether the connection is fully established and whether the other consumer electronics device is fully functional in the consumer electronics system. If it is found that the consumer did not correctly establish the connection, the same or more detailed instructions may be displayed on the display screen to allow the consumer to correct the mistake.
The invention also extends to situations where establishing a connection involves configuring a remote control system to control multiple consumer electronics devices. The remote control system configuration can include, for example, configuring an IR blaster connected to the first consumer electronics device to relay infrared signals having the appropriate format and speed to the other consumer electronics device. When the first consumer electronics device is connected to the display screen, the instructions delivered to the consumer may include options for configuring the remote control system. When the consumer identifies the consumer electronics device to be controlled by the IR blaster, the first consumer electronics device can test various signal formats and speeds to reliably identify the proper signal configuration.
In order to further simplify the task of connecting various consumer electronics devices, one of the consumer electronics devices may be provided with a plurality of identical, interchangeable connectors. These connectors allow consumers to quickly and easily interconnect any number of consumer electronics devices. The connectors are identical in that each connector is of the same type and has the same number of connector pins. The connectors are interchangeable in that any cable may be plugged into any connector and function properly. This eliminates errors that often occur when users connect the wrong cable to the wrong connector. All such cabling mismatches are totally eliminated by the present invention.
In order to connect the consumer electronics device with the plurality of connectors to other consumer electronics devices, a plurality of cables are provided, each specifically adapted to connect to a particular consumer electronics device. For example, if a user has a television with only a VHF/UHF coaxial connector, then the user would select a cable that had on one end a connector designed and clearly labeled to connect to the VHF/UHF connector. The other end of the cable would terminate in a connector designed to attach to any one of the plurality of identical, interchangeable connectors. The user would thus take the cable, plug it into any open connector and connect the other end to the appropriate connector on the television.
In view of the foregoing, the interactive instructions and connection testing features of the invention greatly simplify the task of connecting various consumer electronics devices. Consumers can easily identify an optimal connection configuration of their consumer electronics systems. If the consumer misunderstands the instructions and incorrectly establishes the connection, the mistake is identified when the connection is tested. Accordingly, consumers are guided through the process of connecting the consumer electronics devices to the extent that virtually any consumer can successfully establish the connections.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.